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Saksenaea mucormycosis: a rare and dangerous cause of necrotising fasciitis
  1. Blake Anthony Sykes1,
  2. Hans Krause2,
  3. Michael Lamparelli1 and
  4. David Austin3
  1. 1General Surgery, Rockhampton Hospital, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
  2. 2Clinical Pathology, Rockhampton Hospital, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
  3. 3Intensive Care Unit, Rockhampton Hospital, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Dr Blake Anthony Sykes; blakesykes1992{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Necrotising fasciitis is a rapidly progressing soft tissue infection requiring early and adequate surgical debridement and appropriate antibiotic cover. The present case highlights bacterial fasciitis associated with fungal (Mucor) infection with insidious angioinvasive nature (Saksenaea vasiformis) which required amputation, negative-pressure vacuum dressings and amphotericin B for definitive treatment. This demonstrates a relatively rare case of the group IV classification of necrotising fasciitis, which we must consider when there is slowly progressing tissue death despite seemingly adequate treatment.

  • General surgery
  • Pathology

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Footnotes

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  • Contributors BAS cared for the patient throughout hospital stay, planned and wrote the case report, and conducted research for discussion. HK is the clinical pathologist who provided detailed information on the histological and mycological assessments of the tissue, as well as provided the photos. ML is the surgical consultant who oversaw the surgical content. DA is the intensivist who oversaw the medical content, provided corrections and assisted with research for discussion.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.